Christophe Rull and Gonzo Jimenez talk Bake Squad season 2

We recently watched Bake Squad season 2 on Netflix, and I love the series quite a bit. So I was excited to sit down and talk to chefs Christophe Rull and Gonzo Jimenez.

Bake Squad follows expert bakers who elevate deserts with crazy ideas and presentation battles to win over clients who are looking for something sweet for their loved ones. At the beginning of each episode, we meet the client, who lets them know what they are looking for, and the bakers take on the challenge to try and win them over.

In season two, we see episodes about surprise baby announcements, vow renewals, and a double 75th birthday. However, my favorite creation of the season came from Gonzo Jimenez during the Bar Mitzvah. In the episode, he creates an editable space-like cake creation from top to bottom. I was in awe of this creation because it was so unique and creative and provided this insane wow factor.

Christophe Rull and Gonzo Jimenez talk about working on Bake Squad season 2

Hidden Remote: A question for both of you, but Christophe, what is the first thing you remember baking? 

Christophe Rull: I would say what I remember is probably a molten chocolate cake when I was in culinary school.

Hidden Remote: Gonzo, to you?

Gonzo Jimenez: A Flan, for some strange reason, it came out perfectly. I thought I was amazing because I could make a Flan. I followed the recipe, it came through and it felt like a victory.

Hidden Remote: What’s the biggest difference between baking in your kitchen vs. baking on the show? 

Rull: On the show, I would say, is the time crunch. The time crunch that’s definitely the big difference because when we are baking in real life, we have time to plan, and it’s a big difference on the show that you have 7 hours, and after the 7 hours is up, that’s it.

Hidden Remote: Gonzo, the Space like creation in the Bar Mitzvah was incredible, take me behind that creation, and where do your ideas kind of come from? 

Jimenez: I get inspiration from everywhere. You can see most of my work is very poppy, very careful risks, put it that way. So that’s kind of like a lot of my work. I don’t do much. I do some realism when it comes to sculptures and showpieces. But most of the stuff is, from, you know, where I get a lot of inspiration are toy stores. So I walk into those places and get inspiration there.

Hidden Remote: Christophe, you’ve been a party chef for over 20 years, what is something that you’ve learned about yourself throughout this two-season journey of Bake Squad? 

Rull: Patience. And also trust the process. Trust the process and believe that no matter what you’re going to put out there is just going to be great. Because you doubt, the reality is you have only 7 hours, and every single time you’re like, okay, am I going to meet the expectation? And not only for the clients we are baking for, but also for the viewers? Right. At the end of the day, you don’t want to disappoint anybody, the network, the clients, the production company, your coworkers, the viewers, and the peers that will watch you all around the world.

Hidden Remote: What has been your favorite creation to date on the series for yourself? 

Jimenez: I would say the piano. That was quite challenging, actually, to execute, mainly because of the size of this monster thing, and I mean, we didn’t have the right refrigeration. It was way too big for what we were trying to achieve. And you saw it like I was trying to put this thing into the walking cooler to crystallize properly. So that was my favorite.

Hidden Remote: Even though you bake quite a bit, what is the go-to bakery snack that you like to eat? 

Rull: You will find me in the middle of the night going to my closet to get Oreos. Also, there is this Filipino candy. I don’t remember exactly the name, but this is a snack all the time, like Filipino candy, and nothing really a fancy pastry as we always do because that’s what we do every day. And we get to try things in our kitchen all the time. So I think when I get home, I don’t want to get a fancy pastry, I just want to get a quick bite.

Jimenez: I do eat a lot of sugar quite a bit. I’m like Buddy the Elf. But let’s put it this way, I’m an endurance athlete, right? I run ultramarathons and stuff like that. And I feel myself literally with shitty chocolate, which there’s nothing wrong with that. I have my own chocolate operation, and I make really high-end chocolates. But when I have to crave something, it’s not going to be a bougie like a Boom Boom. It’s going to be a Snickers or a Kit Kat. As a pastry item, something I consume quite a bit are the double chocolate muffins from Costco. They are phenomenal.

Bake Squad season 2 is available to watch on Netflix now.